Dansize

Listening to Bluecoats hornline warm up in the end zone. Better than commercials for sure.

I know, don't talk about the no-hitter before the game is over... But the sound feed from Flo (on the multi camera) is fantastic. Perhaps they did a sound check with the Bloo crew during rehearsals today.

Oh not at all. Front/center crowd cheered hard when they figured out BAC took (at least) 2nd.

In the stadium. First time seeing Madison. Horn line has nice dynamics. But that's only useful if the pit isn't set to 11 all the time.

Rain held off until just a few minutes after BK finished their encore. Got the crowd a bit on the way to the parking lot. This was our 2nd year at Ogden after more than a decade of consistently going to Stanford (which is 3 hours closer to home). We came last year to see the non-competitive show and loved it. This venue (skipping bay area traffic) and the larger group of World Class in attendance made this an easy choice this year. 540 miles one way, but worth the trip. Next up for us is a return to San Antonio.

BD show in person.... I don't understand it, but they execute the hell out of it.

Wind whipping INT hard and some decent looking storm clouds on the wrong side of the wind. Flo mics got lowered. No sandbags on the bases.

Middle of the Academy show, wind reversed direction which is when the mic went over, followed by the backfield prop. On that subject, Troopers use of their props was much better integrated with their theme and actually used in the show. I like the Academy show, but Troop wins GE.

In the stands now. Half hour before showtime. There's a breeze going the length of the field and I would say temperatures are in the 80's in the shade line. There were scattered storms diving in a few hours ago, but right now, it's a beautiful drum corps evening. Wind will likely be a bigger issue for performers than temps.

Really like the Cavies show. It was just screaming for some Cavilier signature drill during the deceleration / acceleration musical moment. Musically it caught my attention, but they could do something drill wise there to get the audience out of their seats.

With respect to the early sound issues, Flo might benefit from a sound check with one of the corps at each venue, before the broadcast starts. There is usually a corps or two that get rehearsal access to the venue. Just get the techs there early enough to set a baseline level.

Blue Devils just posted this. Found via their Twitter feed. Assuming it is fair to share here.

DCI West (Stanford) is late this year by a few weeks. Often the first CA show in the 3rd week of June, it is now July 10th. Ogden looks to have a bigger line up of world class corps. Sitting geographically in the middle of the 2 shows, I have some planning to do.

SCV was fantastic. Considerable work in story composition, editing and post production.

I am hopeful that some manner of physical media for the 2021 shows will be offered this year. I'll be a little surprised if they do, and disappointed if they don't. Nonetheless, for those that are collectors, I got the e-mail this morning that all A/V products are 50% off for the weekend (through 8/16). https://store.dci.org/audio-video/ It helps me complete pieces of my own collection. But it may also be an indicator of their future selling physical discs. Hopefully it's just an effort for some additional cash flow and not part of any larger plan.

Credit when it's due. The sound on the Thursday show was good.

I got my reply back from DCI. They said that they would pass my comments on to Flo. Sigh. I'd just like them to recognize that their contracted vendor is doing them no favors in successfully promoting the activity and is actually doing harm to their loyal fans. Fewer subscribers means progressively less revenue.

I sent a complaint to Flo, outlining my frustration with their inconsistency from show to show. They got back to me fast and wanted me to cite examples of problems. Which I did. Easy enough. As I told them, I don't want to cancel or get a refund (yet). I just want qualified attention to the problem and a cure put in place so that I can be assured that the quality is reasonable before the shows this weekend. Similar complaints also sent to DCI. Not sure I really expect a miracle. But it felt better telling them that the ability to shoot/broadcast a car race or track event is different than what is needed with respect to musical performances.

So the sound quality from Flo tonight might best be described as "muffled." I say this as a guy that has worked as a live sound engineer. I recognize that every location is different from another. But the fixed mic locations are just that. Fixed. 20 feet up at the 35's and 50. By now (3 years into the contract) I'd hope that they would have consistent practices on how to set ranges and sound levels for a more consistent product. Pit mics are a different animal. But pick a distance and stick with it. And maybe take notes for shows that will be broadcast later in the season.

Troopers. Such an angry sound. I like it.

Yeah, I spoke too soon.

Flo doing a better job on mics and sound levels tonight.

We were on the 50, 7 rows up. We usually go to the Stanford and San Antonio shows. This ended up being our best option for live drum corps within driving distance. Batallion was new to us. Hometown show plus hometown crowd. Huge standing ovation and very happy corps. Big smiles at the end. They're young, but have great potential for the future. We'd seen Mandarins rehearse in Reno a few weeks back. I like the approachable music and the step up in horn power on the night. Using the THX sound wave to test their speakers gets a great response. 2 visual concerns. Putting a tarp on the field always draws an eye to potential trips. All good tonight. And during the last piece, dozens of Frisbee are thrown towards backfield. But as frisbees get tossed, we kept waiting for a corps member to get beaned in the head. Not show related, Mandarins didn't sell merchandise tonight. We were ready to make an investment, but not to be tonight. We'll do it online once the store reopens after Indy. Troopers were the big surprise for us. Gold horns, New (yet traditional) uniforms and a dark, angry sound. By far the loudest corps of the night. Really, the loudest we have ever heard the Troopers play on the field. Playing like they have something to prove. For some reason, they were the only corps not to play any encore tunes. Can't lie, we were hoping for Battle Hymn. They still got our souvenir money tonight. Blue Knights were solid as you would expect. Another approachable show. Wonderful World is a nice balad for the field. Very sparkly uniform for a night under the lights. And the classic BK encore will always be a winner. Great evening and a great venue. We'll be back.

This order is (currently) only through the end of March, but were this to still be in effect in June, it would certainly affect DCI West at Stanford. Moratorium on Mass Gatherings of 1,000 or more persons in Santa Clara County: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6802189-2020-03-09-Santa-Clara-County-Order-Banning-Mass.html

Saw it at Stanford. Every Tuba has a wireless mic package. Sounded nice. Beats the heck out of synthesized goo.